


Siblings

by theragingstorm



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Family, Friendship, Ice Bros - Freeform, Non-Explicit References to Childbirth, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 23:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3306683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theragingstorm/pseuds/theragingstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elsa longs to be there for Anna in her sister's struggles, but she has other problems: her relationship with Kristoff and inability to accept help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Siblings

**Author's Note:**

> There are not enough stories about Kristoff and Elsa's relationship, so I wrote one. Quite simple really.

Elsa was panicked. She paced the floor of her bedroom, icicles spiking on the expensive carpet wherever her feet touched. Of course, to add to her distress, every couple of minutes a piercing scream would echo through the castle. When that happened, the spikes would grow larger and more numerous. Her bedroom, instead of looking like a place to live and sleep, now looked like a cage made of ice.

"Calm down," the young queen mumbled to herself, deliberately slowing her pace. "Other women have been doing this for thousands of years. Doing it _without_ modern-day technology or medicine. Besides, she's young and strong. She can do it. She can--"

Another scream coupled with a horrible wail of agony echoed through the castle.

A gale of freezing wind and snow thundered from Elsa's hands and tore across her bedroom with enough force to blast open the door. Several icicles fell and impaled themselves in the floor.

Elsa collapsed on her bed. Why did it have to be her little sister who went through this kind of pain? Why did it have to be Anna, of all people? The loving one, the generous and kindhearted one, whose sunny personality had endeared her to the whole kingdom. Anna didn't deserve to be put through this. Also, it wasn't the kind of experience that ended quickly. Last time she'd looked at the clock, this had been going on for more than five hours. It didn't show any signs of stopping, either.

Elsa was so busy being miserable that she didn't notice the tall blond man who'd just walked through her doorway. At least, not until an icicle broke and fell down on his head and he started cursing.

Elsa sighed, burying her face even deeper in her pillow.

"Go away, Kristoff."

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked, brushing broken ice out of his hair.

"Nobody else I know uses 'son of a reindeer fucker' as curse."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize; just leave me alone."

Instead, her sister's husband walked further into her room, broken ice crunching under his boots. His concerned expression morphed into one of shock as he looked around the room.

"Wow. I knew you were upset, but...wow. This place looks like an avalanche just hit it."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" she replied, her voice still muffled by her pillow.

"Yeah, um, I guess. I have seen a couple in the past," he said a little distractedly, examining the damage.

Elsa lifted her head.

"Don't touch those tapestries," she snapped with more force than she'd intended. "They cost a fortune."

He attempted to quickly let go of the iced-over tapestry. But when he did, it broke in half. Looking ashamed of himself, Kristoff wiped his hands off on his trousers and shot her an apologetic look.

Elsa resisted the urge to groan.

"What are you even doing here, anyway? I thought you were supposed to be keeping Anna company."

He threw his hands up in the air.

"I _was._ But Birgitta kicked me out about an hour ago. She said that she knew I was trying to be there for my wife, but it would be easier if Anna were just surrounded by other women. And she didn't say it, but I think she thought I was getting in the way."

Elsa decided not to respond to this.

"But aside from that, I was worried about you and thought that you might need some company." His eyes surveyed the room again. "You seem a little...stressed, and--"

She cut him off.

"No."

His eyebrows raised.

"I just want to be alone right now. _Alone._ "

Kristoff didn't budge.

"You do know what alone means, don't you?" she snarked.

"Of course I do," he snapped. "But I don't think it'd be good for you to be alone right now."

" _You_ don't think? So what, you know what's good for me better than I do, is that it?"

Kristoff folded his arms and set his jaw.

"Right now, yes, I do."

Elsa gaped at him incredulously.

"How does Anna put up with you?"

" _Me?_ How did she keep knocking on your door for thirteen years? Trying to get anywhere with you is like negotiating with a brick wall."

"Kristoff Bjorgman, I'm giving you an order from your queen. You have ten seconds to get out of my room. After that, I'm going to--"

"Excuse me, _Your Majesty,_ but I'm not going anywhere."

Elsa stood up and walked over to him very slowly. The two of them stood and glared at each other for a few long seconds.

"You do realize," she hissed, "that disobeying a direct order from your reigning monarch could be considered treason? You're extremely lucky I'm not putting you in the dungeon or worse."

Jagged spikes of ice were growing off the walls like bamboo, twisting forward until they surrounded the two people within like the bars of a cage.

"'My reigning monarch?'" Kristoff replied scornfully. "So, to you I'm just a subject? Funny. I thought that I was worth more to you than that, Your Majesty."

"Don't you dare appeal to my sense of guilt. I harbor no regrets about treating you the way you deserve."

Hurt flashed in the young man's brown eyes. Then they hardened and narrowed into slits.

"Fine," Kristoff snarled. "So you're not going to accept my help for your own good. Fine. But I would have thought that you'd at least do it for Anna's sake. You're only tormenting yourself right now, and you know perfectly well that she wouldn't want you to be alone and miserable. I would've thought you'd at least consider what she would want for you. But I guess I was wrong."

"Who the fuck are you to tell me what Anna would want for me!?" Elsa raged.

"I'm her husband, that's who!"

"I'm her sister!"

"What, and that justifies your acting like a stubborn child? If you care about Anna, then you should listen to someone _else_ who does!"

"GET OUT!" Elsa screamed, blasting a gust of arctic wind in his face, knocking him to the ground. Kristoff collapsed, covered in snow and bits of ice. Shaking from the cold, he spat out a serrated chunk of ice as well as a mouthful of blood. Elsa's fury melted away to be replaced by a rush of horror.

_What have I done?_

He struggled to his feet, still shivering, and gave Elsa a hateful glare.

"Fine then," he spat. "I'll just leave you alone by yourself and your own fine feelings. Enjoy yourself."

Kristoff stomped away, leaving a trail of snow and broken ice behind him. Elsa stood numbly in place as the sound of his footsteps faded away. She walked over to her window in a trance. With one fingernail, she scraped away the frost encrusting the glass and stared outside. Since it was December, winter's true snow already lay thick over the city, mountains, and forests. Lights glowed buttery and warm from the insides of houses while smoke curled from chimneys. Scents of hot glogg and cider wafted up from the market sellers' stands. Housewives left their kitchens wrapped in their own knitted sweaters to gossip together. Although it was barely four in the afternoon, men were already congregated in the inns to gripe about their jobs. As the end of the day had finally arrived, children raced back back from school only to initiate snowball fights in the streets. Elsa shook herself out of her own trance.

_What am I doing?_

She ran away from the window and out her door, then leaped down the stairs three at a time. She raced through the long hallways and wove through the many rooms. Elsa searched and searched throughout the whole castle, but couldn't find Kristoff. Lost in worry, she was doubling back through the main ballroom before accidentally running into a bunch of the maidservants.

"OW! Oh, sorry, Your Majesty."

"It's not your fault, Sofie," Elsa assured the embarrassed young woman. "But I do have a question for any of you who can answer it."

"Did...someone do something wrong?"

_Yes. It was me._

"No, no, it's nothing like that. I was just wondering where Prince Consort Kristoff went."

"Oh is that it? Maria, didn't you see him a minute ago?"

The laundress drew herself up and nodded.

"Yes, I did. He was headed off towards the stables, looking all mad about something. When I asked what was wrong, he just grunted and walked away. And I thought that that fool stable boy was rude."

Elsa sighed.

_Apparently, I'm not the only one who can't talk about their own issues._

"Alright, that's all I needed to know. Thank you."

Maria curtseyed as the queen ran off again; and the maidservants were quiet for a few moments afterward.

"Why do you think she wants to talk to the prince?"

"How should I know? Maybe it has something to do with the princess."

"Oh dear God. If that's true, I hope she's alright."

"I don't know. Her Majesty looked awfully worried."

"No offense to Her Majesty, but she's always worried. That poor woman needs to relax occasionally and let other people do the panicking."

"Well, what if it was your sister, Greta?"

"All five of my sisters survived it more than once. Her Highness will be perfectly fine. I just hope that Her Majesty will be too."

***

As Elsa headed out through the thick snow and out to the stables, she could hear voices coming from inside. She slipped inside and looked; and sure enough, Kristoff was talking to Sven.

_"Give her some time to relax; you know that she's really stressed right now,"_ the reindeer advised.

"Yeah, I know, buddy. But still. It sometimes feels like I'm never going to be good enough to be a member of her family. It's been more than three years now, and more often than not Elsa still doesn't trust me. I mean, I can understand her feeling that nobody's good enough for Anna, because nobody _is_ good enough for Anna. But couldn't she at least _try_ to trust me? Does she not trust _anyone?_ "

_"That's not fair and you know it. First of all, Elsa has proved a thousand times over that she really does care about you. Second of all, you barely trust anyone and she's been through a lot more crap than you. Third of all, it's not like you asked her nicely if you could spend time with her. In fact, you were downright rude and disrespectful of her wishes. So give the poor woman a break already."_

"Yeah, you're right, Sven. Yeah, okay, I didn't treat her very fairly. Ugh, I just...look, I love Elsa. She feels like a sister to me. And I kind of wish that I could matter to someone the way Anna and Elsa matter to each other. I never had a sibling."

Sven huffed.

" _What am I, a next-door neighbor?"_

Kristoff laughed a little ruefully and scratched his friend behind the ears.

"Don't worry, buddy. I do still care about you. But it's different having a human sibling. Well, I think it is. I wouldn't know, after all."

"But I would," Elsa replied, stepping forward into his line of view.

Kristoff was only startled for a moment.

"Oh," he said flatly. "It's you."

"Yeah. It's me."

Kristoff sighed deeply and rubbed Sven's ears a little more.

"Here to apologize, I assume? To say that you didn't mean it, that the worthless peasant isn't so worthless after all?"

Sven attempted to bite his hand and he yanked it away.

Elsa, meanwhile, winced.

"Yeah. I deserved that. But please, Kristoff--"

She stretched out a hand, and he involuntarily flinched.

"Please, listen. I...I _hate_ being in situations where I'm out of control or helpless. And I'm both of those things right now, with Anna of all people at stake. Also, I may have...blamed you a little bit for her pain. I'm not trying to excuse my behavior, because it was inexcusable. But...please don't think that I don't trust you."

His face softened and his shoulders slumped.

"Elsa...I'm at fault too. I shouldn't have pushed you like that. And I shouldn't have insinuated that you don't care about Anna, because you love her more than anything."

"Hey, look at me. This is the _queen_ of stupid mistakes. Literally. Remember that I locked my sister out for thirteen years leaving her alone, and thought that I was doing what was right for her? Yeah. That was me."

Kristoff cracked a smile.

"Maybe, but I was the one who thought that Hans was her true love."

"Wait, what? Okay, that was stupid."

Sven grunted. _"You're not kidding. What an idiot he was. I practically had to carry him back to Arendelle before he'd get the message."_

Kristoff turned and glared at his friend.

"Okay, you're not helping."

Elsa laughed and rubbed Sven's nose.

"Oh come on, even I knew Hans was no good from the moment I saw him. Must've been the sideburns that tipped me off. Or his too-tight pants. Or the fact that it looked like he spends more time fixing his hair than I do."

The two of them shared a good snicker over Anna's ex-fiancé for a few minutes before they sobered up again.

"But seriously," Elsa said softly, "did you mean it when you said that you consider me like your sister?"

Kristoff was quiet for a few moments.

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Since when have you thought that?"

He paused. Then considered the question for a minute or so.

"Um...probably since we all went on that camping trip together the autumn after the Great Thaw."

She gaped at him.

"That trip was a _disaster._ All my clothing went up the river, Sven injured his hoof, Olaf fell into that den of weasels, your tent got raided by a bear, and Anna--"

"It was how we rescued Anna together," he interrupted. "It felt like something siblings would do. Taking care of someone they both love together I mean, not necessarily fighting a pack of wolves."

Despite herself, Elsa smiled.

"Well, if I'm your sister, can I tell you that you need to make your bed and wash with soap?"

"Get over yourself. You're my sister, not my mother. I already have one of those."

"So...forgiven?"

To her surprise, he wrapped her up in a hug.

"Definitely forgiven."

"Thank you...brother."

His face lit up like a happy child's. Sven brayed in approval.

Right then, Kai ran into the stables and surprised the two of them. He looked much more disheveled and excited than usual.

"Elsa and Kristoff--I mean my queen and prince--I mean Your Majesty and Highness--"

Elsa held up her hands.

"Kai, slow down. What is it?"

The manservant took a deep breath and re-composed himself. However, he couldn't keep the gleam of joy out of his eyes.

"Princess Anna--"

Both of them stiffened.

"--has been delivered of a healthy baby boy."

"And--and, how's Anna?" Kristoff asked in a strangled voice. Elsa didn't say anything, mostly because she didn't trust herself to.

"The princess is perfectly fine. Everything about both of them is perfectly fine."

A happy sob forced its way out of Elsa's throat. Kristoff's eyes grew unusually bright. A grin broke through Kai's professional demeanor.

"I believe that the princess requested that you both come visit her in the hospital wing."

"Thank--thank you," Elsa choked out.

The manservant bowed and left the stables.

The two friends turned and looked at each other.

"Well...Anna did request it..." Kristoff began with a smirk.

"Race you."

"You are _so_ going to lose."

The two of them charged off into the winter evening off to the castle, the sunset sparkling on the snow like the upside-down northern lights. Anna was waiting for them. And she wasn't alone.

 

\--Fin--


End file.
